U.S. patent number 8,082,257 [Application Number 11/050,506] was granted by the patent office on 2011-12-20 for recording and reproducing apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Kazuhiro Takahashi.
United States Patent |
8,082,257 |
Takahashi |
December 20, 2011 |
Recording and reproducing apparatus
Abstract
A data processing apparatus includes a management file creating
portion for creating a first management file for managing reading
of an information data file recorded on a recording medium and a
second management file for managing a predetermined function
related to data recorded on the recording medium, a designation
portion for designating a function associated with the recording
medium, and a control portion for performing the function
designated by the designation portion based on the first management
file and the second management file created by the management file
creating portion.
Inventors: |
Takahashi; Kazuhiro
(Tokorozawa, JP) |
Assignee: |
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo,
JP)
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Family
ID: |
34879690 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/050,506 |
Filed: |
February 3, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050192982 A1 |
Sep 1, 2005 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Feb 27, 2004 [JP] |
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2004-053234 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
707/741;
369/30.4; 348/207.99; 707/831 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B
27/329 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
7/00 (20060101); G06F 17/30 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;369/30.4 ;707/741,831
;348/207.99 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Nikon, Nikon Digital Camera Coolpix 800 Reference Manual, Sep. 24,
1999, p. 1-53. cited by examiner .
DVD Forum, "Guidebook for DVD-Video Text Data Usage", Sep. 1999,
Version 1.0, Selected Pages. cited by examiner .
www.OSTA.org, "MPV FAQ", Mar. 11, 2003, p. 1-5, hereinafter
MPV.sub.--FAQ. cited by examiner .
Jeita, "Design rule for Camera File System DCF Version 2.0", Jul.
9, 2003, p. 1-54. cited by examiner .
Jeida, "Digital Still Camera Image File Format Standard", Dec.
1998, Japan Electronic Industry Development Assoc., 174 pages,
<Retrieved from www.exif.org/dcf-exif.PDF Apr. 15, 2009>.
cited by examiner.
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Primary Examiner: Lin; Shew-Fen
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A recording and reproducing apparatus comprising: a mounting
mechanism arranged to mount a recording medium; a recording and
reproducing unit configured to record an image file on the
recording medium and to reproduce the image file from the recording
medium; a first creating unit configured to create a basic
management file for reproducing a plurality of image files recorded
on the recording medium, wherein the basic management file is
different from the image file and includes a plurality of indexes,
each index respectively corresponding to one of the plurality of
image files recorded on the recording medium, and each index
including an image type attribute corresponding to one of the
plurality of image files, a respective index of a thumbnail
corresponding to one of the plurality of image files, a respective
index number corresponding to one of the plurality of image files,
and a respective name corresponding to one of the plurality of
image files, wherein the basic management file manages reading of
each image file recorded on the recording medium; an instruction
unit configured to issue an instruction to generate a group
including at least one of the plurality of image files recorded on
the recording medium; and a second creating unit configured to
create a group management file for managing each image file
included in the group based on the basic management file, wherein
the group management file is different from the image file and the
basic management file, and includes attributes indicating the
group, an index number of the group, a number of members registered
in the group, and respective index numbers of the indexes included
in the basic management file corresponding to the plurality of
image files included in the group, wherein a virtual directory
hierarchy of the group is created using indexes of the group
management file, wherein the second creating unit creates a new
group management file every time the instruction unit issues the
instruction to generate a new group, and wherein the recording and
reproducing unit records the basic management file and the group
management file on the recording medium where the image files are
recorded.
2. The recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1,
further comprising: a display unit configured to display the image
files recorded on the recording medium based on the group
management file and the basic management file.
3. The recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the first creating unit adds an index corresponding to the
group to the basic management file in accordance with the
instruction to generate the group, the group management file
including index number of the index corresponding to the group.
4. A recording and reproducing apparatus comprising: a mounting
mechanism arranged to mount a recording medium; a recording and
reproducing unit configured to record an image file on the
recording medium and to reproduce the image file from the recording
medium; a first creating unit configured to create a basic
management file for reproducing a plurality of image files recorded
on the recording medium, a plurality of indexes, each index
respectively corresponding to one of the plurality of image files
recorded on the recording medium, and each index including an image
type attribute corresponding to one of the plurality of image
files, a respective index of a thumbnail corresponding to one of
the plurality of image files, a respective index number
corresponding to one of the plurality of image files and respective
name corresponding to one of the plurality of image files, wherein
the basic management file manages reading of each image file
recorded on the recording medium; an instruction unit configured to
issue an instruction to generate a group including at least one of
the plurality of image files recorded on the recording medium; a
second creating unit configured to create a group management file
for managing each image file included in the group based on the
basic management file, wherein the group management file is
different from the image file and the basic management file, and
includes attributes indicating the group, an index number of the
group, a number of members registered in the group, and respective
index numbers of the indexes included in the basic management file
corresponding to the plurality of image files included in the
group, wherein a virtual directory hierarchy of the group is
created using indexes of the group management file; and a
management unit configured to store the image file recorded on the
recording medium in a folder and to manage the image file recorded
on the recording medium, wherein the recording and reproducing unit
records the basic management file and the group management file on
the recording medium where the image files are recorded, and the
management unit stores the basic management file and the group
management file in the same folder.
5. A recording and reproducing apparatus comprising: a mounting
mechanism arranged to mount a recording medium; a recording and
reproducing unit configured to record an image file on the
recording medium and to reproduce the image file from the recording
medium; a first creating unit configured to create a basic
management file for reproducing a plurality of image files recorded
on the recording medium, wherein the basic management file is
different from the image file and includes a plurality of indexes,
each index respectively corresponding to one of the plurality of
image files recorded on the recording medium, and each index
including an image type attribute corresponding to one of the
plurality of image files, a respective index of a thumbnail
corresponding to one of the plurality of image files, a respective
index number corresponding to one of the plurality of image files,
and a respective name corresponding to one of the plurality of
image files, wherein the basic management file manages reading of
each image file recorded on the recording medium; an instruction
unit configured to issue an instruction to generate a playlist
indicating a reproduction order of the plurality of image files
recorded on the recording medium; and a second creating unit
configured to create a playlist management file for managing each
image file including an index of the image files designated in the
playlist based on the basic management file, wherein the playlist
management file is different from the image file and the basic
management file, and includes attributes indicating the playlist,
an index number of the playlist, a number of members registered in
the playlist, and respective index numbers of the indexes included
in the basic management file corresponding to the plurality of
image files designated in the playlist, wherein a virtual directory
hierarchy of the playlist is created using indexes of the playlist
management file, wherein the second creating unit creates a new
playlist management file every time the instruction unit issues the
instruction to generate a new playlist, and wherein the recording
and reproducing unit records the basic management file and the
playlist management file on the recording medium where the image
files are recorded.
6. The recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 5,
wherein the recording and reproducing unit reproduces the plurality
of image files from the recording medium in the reproduction order
designated in the playlist based on the playlist management file
and the playlist management file.
7. A recording and reproducing apparatus comprising: a mounting
mechanism arranged to mount a recording medium; a recording and
reproducing unit configured to record an image file on the
recording medium and to reproduce the image file from the recording
medium; a first creating unit configured to create a basic
management file for reproducing a plurality of image files recorded
on the recording medium, wherein the basic management file is
different from the image file and includes a plurality of indexes,
each index respectively corresponding to one of the plurality of
image files recorded on the recording medium, and each index
including an image type attribute corresponding to one of the
plurality of image files, a respective index of a thumbnail
corresponding to one of the plurality of image files, a respective
index number corresponding to one of the plurality of image files,
and a respective name corresponding to one of the plurality of
image files, wherein the basic management file manages reading of
each image file recorded on the recording medium; an instruction
unit configured to issue an instruction to generate a playlist
indicating a reproduction order of the plurality of image files
recorded on the recording medium; a second creating unit configured
to create a playlist management file for managing each image file
designated in the playlist based on the basic management file,
wherein the playlist management file is different from the image
file and the basic management file, and includes attributes
indicating the playlist, an index number of the playlist, a number
of members registered in the playlist, and respective index numbers
of the indexes included in the basic management file corresponding
to the plurality of image files designated in the playlist, wherein
a virtual directory hierarchy of the playlist is created using
indexes of the playlist management file, and a management unit
configured to store the image files recorded on the recording
medium in a folder and to manage the image files recorded on the
recording medium, wherein the recording and reproducing unit
records the basic management file and the playlist management file
on the recording medium where the image files are recorded, and the
management unit stores the basic management file and the playlist
management file in the same folder.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing
apparatus, and more particularly to the management of information
data files to be recorded on or reproduced from a recording
medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Apparatuses configured to record or reproduce digital video or
audio data on or from disk recording media have been known in the
prior art. In such apparatuses, information data are generally
recorded or reproduced as files using a file system, such as UDF
(Universal Disk Format) or FAT (File Allocation Tables).
In addition, recently, digital video cameras have come onto the
market, which record and reproduce captured video data on or from
disk recording media or memory cards. These video cameras are
already equipped with the function of transmitting a part of
recorded video data to a printer for printing, the function of
displaying a thumbnail view of recorded images, the function of
automatically reproducing and displaying a series of images
selected from recorded images in a given order in a slide show, or
the like.
In this case, the above function is implemented by creating a
management file indicative of a group of image data to be printed
or a management file for managing a group of image data to be
reproduced in a slide show. Such a management file is managed and
processed by an application program associated with the above
function.
The recording capacity of a disk recording medium or a memory card
for use with video cameras is dramatically increasing yearly. Along
with this increase, the number of files recordable in a single
recording medium is also increasing. In addition, various editing
functions utilizing characteristics of a random-access recording
medium, such as a disk recording medium or a memory card, represent
features of such a type of video camera.
Accordingly, in order to meet the increased recording capacity of
recording media or the increased functions of apparatuses, various
methods of effectively managing recording contents have been
proposed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.
2002-247488 (corresponding to U.S. Patent Application Publication
No. U.S. 2003/0049029 A1) and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application
No. 2002-278996.
However, in cases where an application program accesses each file
directly using a file system, as in a conventional system, as the
number of files or the number of groups increases, it becomes
difficult to manage these files or groups in a lump. Therefore, it
takes a long time to search for necessary information.
Furthermore, when a file is to be identified via the file system,
the type of the file must be determined only from the file
extension. Therefore, if video or audio files have the same type of
file extension, it is difficult to distinguish these files. This
hinders speedy searching.
In addition, when a plurality of recorded files are reproduced in a
time-series manner, it is necessary to access all of the files and
rearrange them in the order of time of recording. In this case, it
is possible to hold time-series information by exercising ingenuity
in defining a directory structure or file names. However, the
degree of freedom for the directory structure or file names
decreases, causing inconvenience with respect to file
management.
Moreover, if the above-described management file is used, it is
necessary to create a management file for every group. Therefore,
in order to obtain information about the members or the like
included in each management file, it is necessary to open and check
each management file. This is troublesome and inconvenient in
respect of file management. In addition, since different formats
are applied to the respective application programs using management
files, there is a problem with versatility in that one management
file cannot be used by different application programs.
Furthermore, even if a management file dedicated to an application
program is used, the application program accesses each file
directly using the file system. Therefore, the problem that it
takes a long time to search for necessary information remains
unsolved.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-247488, contents
can be managed as index files. In Japanese Laid-Open Patent
Application No. 2002-278996, a virtual directory different from a
file system is created, so that contents can be managed for every
folder.
However, in the above applications, if a consumer apparatus having
a relatively low processing performance with respect to the
increasing amount of content is used, operationality lowers when
the processing performance for index files or folder management is
insufficient. Therefore, a further improvement is required in
content management.
Furthermore, in the above applications, highly functional content
management cannot be applied to low-cost, low-performance
apparatuses in terms of processing capability and display
capability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to implementing optimum content
management according to functions of an apparatus.
In one aspect of the present invention, a data processing apparatus
includes management file creating means for creating a first
management file for managing reading of an information data file
recorded on a recording medium and a second management file for
managing a predetermined function related to data recorded on the
recording medium, designation means for designating a function
associated with the recording medium, and control means for
performing the function designated by the designation means based
on the first management file and the second management file created
by the management file creating means.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading of the following
detailed description of embodiments thereof when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference
characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the
figures thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute
a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the
invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the
principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a disk recording medium for
use in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an image capture apparatus
according to the embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a directory structure of
files recorded on a recording medium according to the embodiment of
the invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of management files
according to the embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing indexes contained in a basic management
file according to the embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing examples of attributes described in
indexes.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing indexes contained in a management file
for a group folder.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a
directory of a file system and a virtual directory of a group.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the construction of a
data transmission system according to an embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the sequence of transmission and
receiving operations of the data transmission system shown in FIG.
9.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating processing operations of an
image capture apparatus on the transmission end included in the
data transmission system shown in FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail below with
reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an image capture apparatus 200
according to an embodiment of the invention.
In FIG. 2, the image capture apparatus 200 includes a lens 201, a
solid-state image sensor 202, an A/D converter 203, an iris 205, a
motor 204, a microphone 209, a microphone amplifier 210, an A/D
converter 211, an operation key 212, a display driver 213, a
display device 214, a speaker driver 215, a speaker 216, an
external input/output terminal 217, various sensors 224, a
recording medium 250, a recording and reproducing portion 223, a
CPU (central processing unit) 230, a memory 222, and a power source
221. The lens 201 forms an image to be captured. The solid-state
image sensor 202 converts the formed image into an electrical
signal. The A/D converter 203 converts the electrical signal into
digital data. The motor 204 drives the lens 201 and the iris 205.
The microphone 209 collects sound. The microphone amplifier 210
amplifies sound. The A/D converter 211 converts sound into digital
data. The operation key 212 is used to operate the image capture
apparatus 200. The display driver 213 forms a video image
conforming to a display format. The display device 214 is an LCD
(liquid crystal display) device or an EVF (electronic viewfinder)
for displaying the video image. The speaker driver 215 drives the
speaker 216 to output sound. The external input/output terminal 217
is configured to input and output a variety of information. The
recording and reproducing portion 223 records and reproduces a
variety of data on or from the recording medium 250. The CPU 230
controls the whole image capture apparatus 200. The memory 222 is
used by the CPU 230.
Recording operation of the image capture apparatus 200 is described
below with reference to FIG. 2.
Light from an object passes through the lens 201 and the iris 205
and is then incident on the solid-state image sensor 202. The
solid-state image sensor 202 converts the incident light into an
electrical signal. The A/D converter 203 performs sampling to
convert the electrical signal into digital data. The digital data
is supplied to the CPU 230 as a digital video signal composed of a
luminance signal Y and color-difference signals Cr and Cb or RGB
signals. The lens 201 is driven for movement by the motor 204 under
the control of the CPU 230 in accordance with the automatic
focusing function and the zooming function. The CPU 230 generates a
timing signal for fetching data from the solid-state image sensor
202. The iris 205 is driven by the motor 204 under the control of
the CPU 230. In cases where the lens 201 has an image stabilizing
function (an acceleration sensor, an image stabilizing actuator,
etc.), outputs of the acceleration sensor and a location sensor of
the image stabilizing actuator are supplied to the CPU 230, and the
CPU 230 produces an image stabilizing control signal to cause the
motor 204 to drive the image stabilizing actuator.
A sound signal obtained by the microphone 209 is amplified by the
microphone amplifier 210. The A/D converter 211 performs sampling
to convert the amplified sound signal into digital data. The
digital data is supplied to the CPU 230. The CPU 230 applies, to
the digital video signal, basic processing including color
separation, white balance, gamma correction, aperture correction,
etc., and additional processing including image-size setting,
image-quality adjustment, position adjustment, etc., which are set
by the operation key 212 of the image capture apparatus 200. In
addition, the CPU 230 applies, to the digital video signal, image
compression processing compliant with the MPEG (Moving Picture
Experts Group) standard in accordance with a set compression method
and compression parameters, thus obtaining compressed image
data.
The CPU 230 also applies, to the sound data, additional processing
including sound-quality adjustment, etc., which are set by the
operation key 212 of the image capture apparatus 200, and sound
compression processing in accordance with a set compression method
and compression parameters, thus obtaining compressed sound data.
The compressed image data and the compressed sound data together
with control data constitute a data stream, such as a program
stream or transport stream, defined by the MPEG standard.
The control data represents additional image-capture information,
such as information on the image capture apparatus 200 itself,
information on setting of image and sound recording, information on
image-capture conditions, etc.
The CPU 230 controls the recording and reproducing portion 223 on
the basis of a file system, such as UDF or FAT, to record on the
recording medium 250 a data stream composed of image data and sound
data as a content file. In addition, as described later, the CPU
230 creates a management file for managing each content recorded on
the recording medium 250 and implements various functions, such as
recording, reproduction, etc., using the management file.
The file system represents a structural system composed of file
data and management information for managing files. Employing the
file system in common allows different recording media or different
recording and reproducing apparatuses to be used for recording and
reproduction.
The data stream is sent to the external input/output terminal 217
if necessary. In addition, a video image represented by the data
stream is displayed on the display device 214 via the display
driver 213 for confirmation. The power source 221 supplies electric
power to each circuit block of the image capture apparatus 200.
Examples of the recording medium 250 include, but are not limited
to, a memory card, such as MMC (Multimedia Card), SSFDC
(Solid-State Floppy Disk Card), SD (Secure Digital),
Compactflash.RTM., PC card, etc., and a magnetic (or
magneto-optical) recording medium, such as hard disk, CD-RW
(Compact Disc-Rewritable), FD (Floppy Disk), MD (Mini Disc),
DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc-random-access memory), etc.
In the present embodiment, a disk-shaped magneto-optical recording
medium is used as the recording medium 250. The recording and
reproducing portion 223 contains a mechanism for mounting and
ejecting such a magneto-optical disk and an optical pickup unit for
radiating a light beam onto the magneto-optical disk.
FIG. 1 shows the appearance of the magneto-optical disk. Data are
recorded, as digital data, on concentric tracks of the
magneto-optical disk. In FIG. 1, a portion A is a hole for the
chucking of the magneto-optical disk during rotation. A portion B
is a management area on which to record data for managing data to
be recorded on the magneto-optical disk. A portion C is a data area
on which to record information data. Curves D and E schematically
indicate recording of information data.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a directory structure of
files recorded on the recording medium 250 according to the
embodiment of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 3, VIDEO, DCIM and MISC directories are located
under a ROOT directory. A MANAG directory for file management is
located under the VIDEO directory. The MANAG directory contains a
file disk.inf having attributes of the recording medium 250
described therein, and files mgri0001.inf, mgri0002.inf,
mgri0003.inf, mgri0004.inf, . . . , for managing content files
recorded on the recording medium 250. Content files recorded on the
recording medium 250 are managed using these management files, as
described later.
In addition, a PRG0001 directory located under the VIDEO directory
contains a group of content files, a file img0001.thm having
representative images of the group of content files collectively
recorded therein, and a file img0001.mp7 having titles of the group
of content files, a search table, additional information,
maintenance information, etc., collectively recorded therein. The
search table is a hash table having attributes, title, date,
ancillary information, etc., of a content file as keys. Examples of
content files include an MPEG data file img0001.mpg, an information
file img0001.inf having time stamps, structure information, etc.,
of the MPEG data stream recorded therein, an MPEG sound data file
img0002.mp2, a JPEG still-image file img0004.jpg, a text data file
img0005.txt, a bit-mapped image file img0006.bmp, a playlist file
img0007.smi having the order of reproduction of the group of
content files described therein, etc.
If the number of content files or the content file number is
greater than a predetermined value, or if a predetermined condition
is changed, a new directory, such as PRG0002, is created under the
VIDEO directory, and content files are located under the new
directory. For example, in cases where a content file to be
recorded is an MPEG data stream, a file name obtained by
incrementing a previously-recorded content file's number by one is
used. That is, a content file named img0008.mpg is recorded in the
position of VIDEO PRG0002. In this case, an information file
img0008.inf indicating information on a data stream obtained at the
time of creation of an MPEG2 file is also recorded along with the
data file img0008.mpg. In addition, a DCIM directory defined by the
DCF standard (Design rule for Camera File system) or a MISC
directory defined by the DPOF standard (Digital Print Order Format)
can be located under the ROOT directory and contain content files
created according to these standards.
Content management files are now described in detail below.
Content management files can be used to manage directories and
files contained inside the VIDEO directory shown in FIG. 3 or all
directories and files contained inside the ROOT directory recorded
on a recording medium, or can also be linked to content files
located outside a recording medium, for example, content files
located on an intranet or the Internet. In the present embodiment,
the content management files are used to manage directories and
files contained inside the ROOT directory.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of management files
(index files) according to the present embodiment, including a
plurality of management files mgri0001.inf, mgri0002.inf, . . . ,
mgri000X.inf. "X" of mgri000X.inf is an arbitrary integer. For
example, if X is 4, four types of management files (index files)
exist. In the present embodiment, in addition to one basic
management file, a management file is created for every function,
such as a grouping function or a playlist function.
At the head of each management file, ancillary information is
described as management information. The ancillary information
includes information on an index type, an effective index
identifier, a version of the standard, a compatibility level, a
unique number of the recording medium, a file size, the number of
indexes in use, the maximum number of indexes, date of creation,
updating, access, etc., a creator, text information, etc. Each
management file contains up to N indexes.
In the present embodiment, the first management file mgri0001.inf
is used as a basic management file. The second management file
mgri0002.inf and subsequent management files are respectively
created for different functions, as described later.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing, as an example, indexes contained in a
management file according to the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, an index is information related to a
content file, such as the MPEG image file img0001.mpg shown in FIG.
3, or information related to a function content, such as a grouping
function based on date or a playlist (PLF).
FIG. 5 shows indexes related to a content file, such as an image
file or a sound file. These indexes describe an attribute, an index
number, an extended index of additional information, an index of a
thumbnail, a file name, additional information of the content, and
other items.
The playlist is data (file) indicating the order of reproduction of
content files recorded on the recording medium 250. The playlist is
described by means of a description language, such as SMIL
(Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language).
FIG. 6 shows examples of attributes described in indexes. In the
present embodiment, content files having various attributes shown
in FIG. 6 are managed using management files. Among the attributes
of contents, for example, MPEG1 is represented by 0x01, MPEG2 by
0x02, MPEG4 by 0x03, . . . , a playlist by 0x80, an effect by 0x90,
and a group folder (to be described later) by 0xB0. 0x50, 0xA0 and
0xC0 through 0xFE are reserved. In addition, 0xFF represents an
extended attribute inherent in a manufacturer. In cases where the
same file name is employed in different directories, the file name
needs to be described with the full path. This complicates file
management. Therefore, the file name is made to contain the value
of an attribute so as to make file management easy. For example,
attributes are represented as follows. VIDEO directory=0x00. DCF
directory=0x01. External-apparatus directory=0x80.
Among the attributes shown in FIG. 6, attributes 0x01 through 0x50
are described by the basic management file mgri0001.inf, and the
other attributes are described by different management files, i.e.,
the management file mgri0002.inf and subsequent management
files.
In the present embodiment, every time processing, such as recording
or deletion of a content file, is performed on the recording medium
250, the content of the basic management file having indexes
recorded therein is modified correspondingly with the performed
processing.
In addition, for example, in cases where a user newly creates a PLF
(playlist), the index of the new PLF is not described in the basic
management file. Instead, a new management file for PLF is created
as mgri0002.inf, and information on the new PLF is described as an
index contained in the management file mgri0002.inf. Moreover, in
cases where a user creates a group obtained by selecting a part of
image files recorded on the recording medium 250, the index of the
group is not described in the basic management file. Instead, a new
management file for group is created, and information on the group
is described as an index contained in the management file for
group.
In this instance, information indicative of the attribute of each
management file newly created other than the basic management file,
such as PLF or group, is stored in the management file.
FIG. 7 shows examples of indexes contained in the management file
for group. In the present embodiment, a group can be handled as a
hierarchy structure.
Indexes of a group include an attribute, an index number of the
group, an index number of a parent directory, an index of a
thumbnail, a folder name, an extended index of additional
information, the number (N) of members registered in the group, and
respective index numbers of a member 1, member 2, . . . , member N.
If the number of members is represented by a specific numerical
value, such as 0xFFFF, this indicates that the group is not in the
lowest-layer directory. Each index number is uniquely determined in
one recording medium.
Each index may have either a fixed length or a variable length. In
the case of a variable length, each index has size information
added thereto. In addition, the size of a fixed length or a
variable length is N times the sector or cluster size of a file
system, so that access to files can be made easy.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a
directory of a file system and a virtual directory of a group. In
the image capture apparatus 200, writing and reading of content
files on or from the recording medium 250 are performed in
accordance with the file system. More specifically, when
information on an image file designated by the above-described
management file, for example, a file name, is transferred to the
file system, the file system detects the recording address of an
image file having that file name, thus enabling the image file to
be read out in response to an instruction for reproduction.
In addition, a virtual directory hierarchy of a group is created
using the indexes of a group folder shown in FIG. 7.
More specifically, in the present embodiment, if a user designates
a group of content files that are selected, the CPU 230 creates a
directory structure corresponding to the designated group. Further,
the CPU 230 stores the selected content files in the respective
lowest-layer directories and creates a management file for the
group corresponding to the directory structure.
For example, in FIG. 8, if the user selects four content files
img.0001.mpg, img.0002.mpg, img.0004.jpg and img.0005.text and
issues an instruction for creating a group named 2000Trip, the CPU
230 creates a directory named Playlist under the virtual ROOT
directory and further creates a directory 2000Trip under the
Playlist directory.
Then, according to such a directory structure, the CPU 230 creates
a management file for managing the group, and describes, as indexes
of the management file, indexes of the group folder shown in FIG.
7. In this instance, the respective index numbers of the content
files img.0001.mpg, img.0002.mpg, img.0004.jpg and img.0005.text,
which are members of the group, are registered. Since the
respective index numbers of the content files are already described
in the basic management file, the CPU 230 detects the index numbers
of the designated content files and describes the detected index
numbers into the indexes of the group folder. Arrows shown in FIG.
8 indicate that the indexes of the group folder 2000Trip created as
described above refer to content files in the file system
directory.
Processing for displaying the virtual directory created as
described above is discussed in detail below.
When an instruction for displaying a list of content files
belonging to a group is issued by the user, the CPU 230 checks the
content of the management file for group management created as
described above and checks the content of each index. Then, the CPU
230 checks the index number of a member described in an index in
the lowest-layer directory and detects information on a content
file having that index number from the basic management file.
Then, the CPU 230 controls the display driver 213 to display, on
the display device 214, the group name "2000Trip" and file names of
content files belonging to the group. In addition, the CPU 230 can
detect indexes of thumbnails of content files belonging to the
group from the indexes of the basic management file, transfer the
file names described in the indexes of the thumbnails to the file
system, reproduce thumbnail image files from the recording medium
250 and display the thumbnail image files together with the file
names on the display device 214.
Moreover, if an instruction for newly creating a different group is
issued by the user, the CPU 230 adds indexes of the new group to
the previously-created management file for group management.
Furthermore, when the user designates four content files
img.0001.mpg, img.0002.mpg, img.0004.jpg and img.0005.text shown in
FIG. 8 and performs such editing that these content files are to be
reproduced in this order, the CPU 230 creates a file img0007.smi
serving as a PLF for designating the content files and describing
the order of reproduction and records the file img0007.smi on the
recording medium 250 in accordance with the file system. Then, the
CPU 230 further creates a management file for PLF and describes
"img0007.smi" as an index of the management file.
During reproduction, when an instruction for PLF reproduction is
issued by the user, the CPU 230 detects "img0007.smi" from the
indexes of the management file for PLF management, transfers the
file name "img.0007.smi" to the file system, and reproduces data of
the file img0007.smi from the recording medium 250. Then, the CPU
230 reproduces the designated content files from the recording
medium 250 in accordance with the content of the PLF.
As described above, in the present embodiment, content files
recorded on a recording medium are managed based on a basic
management file and a management file created for each attribute.
Accordingly, for example, during ordinary recording, only the basic
management file needs to be updated. Therefore, management of
recorded content files can be implemented at high speed and with
ease while performing various functions, such as grouping and
editing.
Furthermore, during reproduction, as soon as indexes contained in
the basic management file are recognized, a requisite minimum of
information can be read out at high speed.
Moreover, since a management file is created for each function,
only indexes of a management file corresponding to the designated
function need to be read from the recording medium. Therefore, work
memory for storing read files can be reduced.
Accordingly, even if the number of content files to be recorded on
a recording medium increases in the future, various functions can
be implemented without lowering operationality.
Attributes of indexes can include, in addition to the examples
shown in FIG. 6, a hierarchy structure of a virtual directory,
ancillary information on an information data file, such as the
type, size, attribute, reproduction time, representative image,
title and metadata of the information data file, link information,
copyright information and data-creating-system information on the
information data file, etc.
In the above-described embodiment, a management file for group
management and a management file for PLF management are
individually created at the time of processing for grouping and at
the time of processing for editing with PLF, respectively. In
addition, management files corresponding to the other functions of
the image capture apparatus 200 can be created to implement various
functions.
For example, a management file for thumbnail in which an index
number of a thumbnail of each content file is described can be
created. In this case, when an instruction for displaying a list of
thumbnail images recorded on a recording medium is issued by the
user, the CPU 230 detects only files having the index numbers
indicated in the management file for thumbnail from the basic
management file and transfers file names of the thumbnail files to
the file system. Accordingly, a list of thumbnails can be displayed
more quickly.
Processing for disk copying for transferring content files and
management files recorded on the recording medium as described
above to an external apparatus and recording them on a recording
medium in the external apparatus is described below.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the construction of a
data transmission system according to an embodiment of the
invention. In the data transmission system, two image capture
apparatuses having the same configuration as that of the image
capture apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 are connected with each
other.
In FIG. 9, the first image capture apparatus 200 includes a CPU 230
for controlling the whole image capture apparatus 200, a recording
medium 250, and an input/output terminal 217 for inputting or
outputting a variety of information, as shown in FIG. 2. The second
image capture apparatus 1200 includes a CPU 1230 for controlling
the whole image capture apparatus 1200, a recording medium 1250,
and an input/output terminal 1217 for inputting or outputting a
variety of information.
The image capture apparatuses 200 and 1200 are physically connected
via a cable 1020. In the present embodiment, examples of an
interface for use in transfer of data include, but are not limited
to, a serial bus, a parallel bus, USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE
1394 and wireless connection.
Referring to FIG. 9, processing for transmitting, from the image
capture apparatus 200 on the transmitting end to the image capture
apparatus 1200 on the receiving end, content files and management
files recorded on the recording medium 250 and recording them on
the recording medium 1250 is described below.
When an instruction for transferring data is issued by a user
operating an operation key provided on the image capture apparatus
200, the CPU 230 selects, in accordance with a condition (to be
described later), content files and management files recorded on
the recording medium 250 and reads them from the recording medium
250. Then, the CPU 230 transfers the read content files and
management files from the input/output terminal 217 to the image
capture apparatus 1200 via the cable 1020. In the image capture
apparatus 1200, the CPU 1230 writes the data received at the
input/output terminal 1217 into the recording medium 1250.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the sequence of the
above-described transmission and receiving operations of the data
transmission system shown in FIG. 9.
In FIG. 10, when an instruction for transferring data is issued,
the CPU 230 inquires of the image capture apparatus 1200 its
function or capability via the input/output terminal 217. When a
response to the inquiry is transmitted from the image capture
apparatus 1200 to the image capture apparatus 200, the CPU 230
receives the response at the input/output terminal 217 and analyzes
information provided by the response, i.e., analyzes the function
or capability of the image capture apparatus 1200. In accordance
with the analyzed function or capability of the image capture
apparatus 1200, the CPU 230 reads out management files recorded on
the recording medium 250 and determines management files to be
transmitted. In this instance, a basic management file can be
handled in common by the image capture apparatus 200 and the image
capture apparatus 1200. Therefore, the basic management file is
transmitted regardless of the function of the image capture
apparatus 1200.
On the other hand, unnecessary management files may be present
depending on the function of the image capture apparatus 1200. For
example, if the image capture apparatus 1200 does not have the
function of displaying a hierarchy structure of a virtual directory
as shown in FIG. 8, a management file for group management becomes
useless in the image capture apparatus 1200. Therefore, the
management file for group management may be inhibited from being
transmitted.
If necessary, history information on transmission indexes can be
added to the content of the basic management file. The history
information on transmission indexes includes information indicating
that a management file (index file) that is considered to be
unnecessary in the image capture apparatus 1200 is present and is,
therefore, not transmitted, information indicating that, while all
management files are transmitted, an invalidity identifier for
identifying a management file considered to be unnecessary in the
image capture apparatus 1200 is provided, or the like.
The CPU 230 reads the content files, the basic management file and
the selected management files from the recording medium 250 and
transmits them to the image capture apparatus 1200 via the
input/output terminal 217.
Then, the image capture apparatus 1200 records, on the recording
medium 1250, the content files and management files transmitted
from the image capture apparatus 1200. In this instance, the
content files are recorded on the recording medium 1250 according
to the file system with the same rule as that of a directory
structure in the recording medium 250.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating the above-described processing
operations for disk copying performed by the image capture
apparatus 200 on the transmitting end.
Referring to FIG. 11, processing for determining a management file
to be transmitted depending on the presence or absence of the
function of displaying a directory hierarchy is discussed
below.
When an instruction for starting data transfer is issued, the CPU
230 inquires about the function or capability of the receiving
apparatus 1200 at step S1101 and receives a response thereto from
the receiving apparatus 1200. At step S1102, the CPU 230 checks to
determine if the receiving apparatus 1200 has the capability to
display a directory hierarchy. If it is determined that the
receiving apparatus 1200 has the capability to display a directory
hierarchy, the CPU 230 proceeds to step S1103. At step S1103, the
CPU 230 selects a management file for managing a group folder, as a
management file to be transmitted, and then proceeds to step S1104.
If it is determined that the receiving apparatus 1200 does not have
a capability to display a directory hierarchy, the CPU 230 proceeds
from step S1102 to step S1104. At step S1104, the CPU 230 modifies
the content of the basic management file and sets a management file
(index file) representing a directory hierarchy untransmitted or
invalid. At step S1105, the CPU 230 reads content files from the
recording medium 250 and transmits them to the receiving apparatus
1200. At step S1106, the CPU 230 transfers the basic management
file and the selected management file to the receiving apparatus
1200.
As described above, when content files recorded on a recording
medium are transmitted to an external apparatus, a management file
to be transmitted is selected from among management files other
than a basic management file according to the function, performance
or capability of the external apparatus, and the selected
management file is transmitted to the external apparatus.
Accordingly, only information conforming to the capability or
product specification of the external apparatus can be transmitted.
Therefore, data transfer time can be shortened, and excessive
burdens are not imposed on the receiving external apparatus.
While the present invention has been described with reference to
exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, the
invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended
claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the
broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications
and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application
No. 2004-053234 filed Feb. 27, 2004, which is hereby incorporated
by reference herein.
* * * * *
References